We’re often asked by customers, “How does Honest determine what goes into its products?” And, as we continue to refine our formulas and introduce new products, this is a great question.
Creating Honest products is a complicated process. We carefully weigh a lot of factors: safety, efficacy, design, affordability, environmental attributes, source of ingredients, manufacturing practices, and more.
It’s a delicate balancing act, and it requires some give and take. While we aim for the product development stars, excelling in absolutely every attribute category results in an unattainable product. For example, we could make a handcrafted, 100% organic lotion in a biodegradable package and deliver it via bicycle, but the end cost would be so prohibitively high only 1% of the population could afford it.
To us, safety and effectiveness are imperatives, but everything else has to be weighed, juggled, and balanced until we find a path that still results in an accessible product. It’s part of a long-term plan to get better, safer products into more people’s hands. And, as more people buy them, the market shifts to meet that growing demand and prices then fall, too. Hopefully—ultimately—safe, eco-friendly products become the norm. They’ll be what everyone makes, what lines every store shelf, and what everyone buys. It’s a big dream, but we know it can be a reality!
By becoming an Honest member, you’re making an investment in a better future—not only for your family because you’ll be using safer, better products, but all families because you’re helping us drive market and social change. There’s a quote by L.N. Smith that says“Every dollar you spend . . . is a vote you cast for the world you want.”
We hope that people vote for an Honest world. Because all of us, together, can make it better.
Since Honest’s launch, we’ve always worked to build a nimble company—one that can quickly respond to customer feedback and deliver the new-and-improved products you ask for and need. We’ve had the pleasure of making our Wipes, Sunscreen, and Shampoo + Body Wash better for you. And now we’re excited to announce that we’ve also improved our Body Oil, Healing Balm, and Face + Body Lotion.
Body Oil
Last week, we introduced reformulated Body Oil that is incredibly similar to the original. It still has the same great organic sunflower, olive, tamanu and coconut oils, but we’ve added avocado and jojoba oils for extra nourishment. We’ve also included organic chamomile and calendula to calm, soothe, and protect extra-sensitive skin. And, of course, the Body Oil still makes an ideal addition for baby massage.
Healing Balm
Within the next week, keep a look out for our new-and-improved Healing Balm. It’s certified USDA organic and made with the same great castor, sunflower, coconut, and tamanu oils. And—even better—we’ve packed it with more organic oils, butters, and extracts for nourishment and skin health. Shea butter, olive oil, and avocado oil provide your skin with better hydration, while carrot root extract adds antioxidants. Chamomile and calendula (surefire winners in our other products!) gently calm and soothe irritated skin, and lavender aids in relaxation. This blend of organic botanicals creates a light, pleasant scent. The new Healing Balm remains versatile as ever and is perfect for treating diaper rash, irritated skin, eczema, minor cuts and scrapes, and much more.
Face + Body Lotion
Coming later this month, we’re happy to delight you with more Face + Body Lotion. Not only are we giving you 25% more (for the same price), but we also enhanced the formula. We kept the lotion’s lightweight feel while enriching it with extra emollients and moisturizers that leave your skin silky smooth. It will be richer, thicker, and more luxurious than ever before! We also listened to your overwhelming feedback about the rosewater scent and removed it from our new version. Now, we’ve added more soothing chamomile and olive oils for rich hydration without weighing it down. Our Face + Body Lotion is great for all skin types and the improved scent and performance makes it even better for the whole family.
Please e-mail or call us anytime if you have any comments, questions, or ideas. We truly hope you enjoy these new-and-improved products as much as we do.
Helping families in need is part of our mission. As we fight to lower our prices without compromising the health and sustainability of our designs, we realize there are still many families who cannot afford The Honest Company experience. That’s not cool with us. That’s why giving back to our community is so important to who we are and what we do.
Last Wednesday, a truckload of Honest products were lovingly packed at our warehouse in Montebello, CA and transported to Baby2Baby headquarters in Los Angeles. On board were the following:
A grand total of 18,358 individual products were donated with a retail value over $80,000. However, the truly amazing part of the day was not the dollar value (although we are quite proud of that!). Rather, it was the time, muscle, and heart that Honest employees and Baby2Baby volunteers put into loading and unloading these thousands of products from the semi-truck into the Baby2Baby warehouse.
Alongside Honest co-founders Jessica Alba, Christopher Gavigan, and Brian Lee, volunteers broke down pallets on the curb, loaded Baby2Baby carts with goods, and carefully wheeled the products inside to safely stack them for later distribution.
These shampoos, diapers, wipes, and other personal care items are in heavy demand by local social service agencies, so many of the donated products were positioned right near the front door for distribution the following day!
And, of course, we had fun along the way! No one ever said volunteering had to be boring!
The Honest Company is a proud supporter of Baby2Baby and all of the great work that they are doing right here in our backyard. Baby2Baby supplies Los Angeles families in need with essential baby gear and clothing for their children up to age 12. By distributing new and gently used items to over 50 non-profit organizations (including homeless and domestic violence shelters, Head Start programs and hospitals), Baby2Baby serves over 50,000 children each year. For more information on how to get involved with Baby2Baby, visit baby2baby.org. Not in Los Angeles? Visit VolunteerMatch.org to find volunteer opportunities in your area.
~ Honest Ashley, Social Goodness Manager
Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies harvested in the spring. I just love the rich flavor of this uniquely shaped vegetable and the many ways to prepare it. Mmmmm…..
Did you know there are 20 different types of edible asparagus? The most common type is what you see at the grocery store or the farmer’s market—green asparagus. It grows in flatbeds and receives sunlight, which is how it gets its green color. Another slightly less common type is the white asparagus. It’s grown in soil, does not receive sunlight, and is generally milder in flavor and more tender than green asparagus. A third type of asparagus that you might see is purple asparagus (remember the importance of eating a rainbow?). It is only about 3 inches tall and is much more fruity in flavor.
Asparagus is an excellent source of:
Cooking Asparagus
You can boil, roast, grill, steam, or sauté it. It lends itself very well to various seasonings and sauces such as olive oil, sea salt, garlic, turmeric, butter, and lemon. I also love making a vegan asparagus pureed soup that is delicious (low calorie and high in fiber).
As with cooking all vegetables, be sure to practice methods that preserve their nutrition. Since many of the vitamins are water soluble, if you cook them in water (boil, steam, etc.), many of the nutrients will be lost in the water. Try not to overcook them.
Purée of Asparagus Soup
Ingredients:
Directions:
Enjoy. Be Well, Be NutritionWise.
~ Nicole Meadow, MPN, RD, CSP, CLC
This post is solely for informational purposes. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for medical advice. Before undertaking any course of treatment or dietary changes, you should seek the advice of your physician or other health care provider.
I hit the alarm snooze button five times (no joke), then start the day with my morning ritual of enjoying a cup of coffee with my husband while walking my dog — taking in the peace and quiet before the craziness of the day ahead. I rush to get ready and head to the office, getting my daily dose of NPR on my delightfully short Santa Monica commute.
I get to enjoy about 15 minutes of quiet while I catch up on e-mails from all of our partners back east who have been emailing me since 4 am. Then it’s off to the races. No two days are the same. Some days I’ll be off to a press check for a new round of labels, or drive across town to our batching and filling facility to check out the new filling equipment and be on site while they are batching and filling our product.
Usually, in the afternoon I’ll receive a package with some kind of surprise — new essential oil scents for our upcoming room & fabric freshener, a prototype of an upcoming top secret product, a new exciting bottle and sprayer for our cleaning sprays (holy moly it’s 3 pm and I still haven’t had lunch!), a sample of our new deodorant formula for us to test drive (yes! you spoke and we heard..coming soon!), you name it. I’ll work on new product ideas, research ingredients, brainstorm packaging design, and constantly work with my amazing colleagues on exciting new campaigns and initiatives around the company.
Just how much goes into developing a product — and how it would make me feel at the end of the day. I knew there were a lot of moving pieces, but just how many, I never knew. And no two projects are alike. I feel like the exciting thing about what we’re doing at Honest is that we’re doing so many things for the first time. I like to think we get better the more we do it, but there is never a shortage of challenges — and on the flip side, rewards. There is nothing like putting six months of time, thought, and countless hours slaving away at a project, and then hold the product in your hand and know that it’s going into thousands of homes and being used on children for a healthier life. It’s truly one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced professionally.
Well, seeing as how I’m intimately involved with making all of them, I’m entirely biased! I love them all. But, if I had to pick, it might be the laundry pods and dishwasher pods. It blows my mind how amazing they are. I recently got married and my husband and I got beautiful new dishware and soft, fluffy towels. It brings me such joy every time I unload my dishwasher and everything is so sparkling clean – or unload my laundry to find delightfully soft towels.
Small changes? Huge changes! Before I worked at Honest, I considered myself a fairly eco-conscious consumer, but working here, especially in products, has truly opened my eyes. I know more about the ingredients on the back of a label than I ever thought I would. I thought I’d been making smart purchasing decisions, but I took a second look, and realized there was so much I never knew about things that I’d been using for years. After working here for a few months, I did a massive overhaul of all my cleaning and personal care products, and now I have an Honest home.
If I weren’t at work, I’d be doing something with my hands. I sit in front of a computer most of the day and am constantly on the phone, so I crave being outside and doing something with an entirely different part of my brain. I’d be off hiking with my dog, or gardening, or working on the latest home improvement project with my husband. Like our desk that we built! That was last fall’s project. This spring…outdoor furniture.
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